Former California Stem Cell CEO Zach Hall on Conflicts of Interest and Last Week's CIRM Board Voting

Conflict of interest issues have long been a difficult issue for the California stem cell agency, and so it was last week.

The matter involved a proposal to reduce the indirect cost funding rate for both businesses and nonprofit institutions from as high as 20 percent to 10 percent of an award. That recommendation quickly ran into objections from Donna W…